Chihuahuas Relocate to Find Eager Owners

The airlift was organized by Marge Fithian, a Philadelphia real-estate agent, who spends much of her free time putting together flights for homeless Chihuahuas from Southern California to states short on the small dogs, including Maine, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Shelters in Arizona and Nevada are also overloaded with the diminutive breed.

"If we can get these dogs from point A to point B, we don't have to euthanize them, because people will wait in line for them," says Ms. Fithian, who belongs to a network of people across the U.S. helping to match Chihuahua demand with the shelter supply.

She's not alone. One transplanted Briton drives a busload of dogs weekly to Canada from Southern California. And Ric Browde, a former record producer for Ted Nugent, Joan Jett and Poison, markets them online with professional photos and fetching names.

"Every dog named Johnny Depp is adopted within an hour," says Mr. Browde, of Beverly Hills, Calif., who has helped send Chihuahuas to Seattle and Ithaca, N.Y.

Alert and intelligent, Chihuahuas typically weigh less than six pounds, have big eyes and ears and project "terrier-like" attitudes of self-importance and confidence, according to the American Kennel Club. The dogs are believed to have originated in Mexico, and the proximity to the border also accounts for their prevalence in many largely Hispanic communities.

ENLARGE

On Wednesday, 15 chihuahuas landed at Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
Melissa Golden for The Wall Street Journal

The dogs' popularity also soared because of movies like Disney's "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and because of celebrity owners who carry their tiny pets around in purses. Breeders trying to cash in on the Chihuahua vogue have amplified the problem.

More Chihuahuas and other pets have landed in shelters as foreclosures ballooned. Meanwhile, budget cuts have made it tougher to staff shelters.

Chihuahuas typically make up 30% or more of dogs in Southern California shelters and are among the most-euthanized, along with pit bulls, the breed that is the hardest to place with adoptive owners because of its reputation for being aggressive. Last year, 15,951 Chihuahuas were impounded in Los Angeles city and county shelter systems, nearly three times the 5,917 in 2006, according to shelter agency figures. Last year, 6,326 of the dogs were adopted from shelters, while 5,619 were euthanized. Others were taken by rescue groups or returned to owners.

ENLARGE

Through November, 27% fewer Chihuahuas have been killed in the Los Angeles area compared with all of last year. Brenda Barnette, general manager of Los Angeles city shelter system, attributes a decline among all dogs to spay and neuter programs and rescue volunteers. "More animals are getting out alive," she says.

Many shelter dogs come from communities where people don't have the money to neuter or spay pets, according to Alana Yañez, who runs the Humane Society of the United States' Pets for Life program in Los Angeles. The cost ranges from $75 for males and $80 for females, with a maximum of $300 for a dog weighing more than 100 pounds, according to Ms. Yañez, whose group also performs free surgeries as part of community outreach. "We don't leave a block until everybody has been fixed," says Ms. Yañez, who estimates 90% of dogs the group handles are Chihuahuas.

John Murray, a full-time dog-rescue volunteer in Norco, Calif., makes a 1,500-mile drive from Los Angeles to Calgary nearly every week to deliver about 45 dogs to adoption agencies, including the Pawsitive Match Rescue Foundation.

"It's never plain sailing. And it's a brutal drive, I'll tell you that," says the 48-year-old Mr. Murray, a transplant from Liverpool, England, who has lately ventured into Arizona and Mexico to gather Chihuahuas for transport.

"It's just what I do," said Mr. Murray, who limits costs on his trips by sleeping on a mattress made of dog-food kibble. Pawsitive Match says it pays him $135 per dog, including any costs to spay, neuter, or vaccinate the pets.

In Calgary, the number of Chihuahuas registered each year is rising, reaching 857 last year, from 224 in 2005, according to the city's Animal & Bylaw Services unit. Tracy Babiak, president of the Pawsitive Match Rescue Foundation, said: "People want to adopt them here. They are so tiny. They are friendly, loyal, they are pretty hearty. People have really taken to them. I mean, I have five of my own."

Mr. Browde, the former record producer, has helped several thousand dogs at Los Angeles County shelters find homes through a Facebook page he started three years ago. He penned a guide on how to market the dogs, advising volunteers to use words such as "perky," "affable" and "sweet," and avoid others such as "chewer." Mr. Browde said he and his wife spent $140,000 last year on costs associated with rescuing shelter dogs.Over the years, they have temporarily taken in a total of 169 dogs that were about to be killed.

The toughest part about transporting Chihuahuas is picking who gets to go, Mr. Browde says: "You're basically choosing who's living and who's dying."

Ms. Fithian in Philadelphia coordinated the latest transfer with Robin Harmon, who runs "Pup My Ride," a program of Best Friends Animal Society in Los Angeles, and Ms. Harmon chose the 15 Chihuahuas from city shelters.

The airlifted dogs won't have to wait long to be adopted, said Kari Vincent, canine services manager at the Norfolk (Va.) SPCA. Her shelter has 45 dogs. There are 15 pit bulls, including one that has lived at the shelter for a year, but not a single Chihuahua. "We almost always have room for small dogs," which are also prized for their portability by the area's transient military population, she said. "They're silly, happy dogs," she said. "They're all going to find great homes."

Ms. Vincent drove four hours to pick up the Chihuahuas at Dulles International Airport and found them wearing red fleece jackets with white snowflakes and dog bones. She beamed as the dogs, with names like Toyota, Lolipop and Fred leaped around playfully, even after the long flight.

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